After the Wars
by Froggie Lover
Summary: It's a year after the Wild Force Rangers have completed their duties as Protectors of the Earth... Or have they?
1. A Year Later

After the Wars  
by Froggie Lover

Introduction: A Year Later

It had been a year since the heroes of Turtle Cove, the Wild Force Power Rangers, had given back their powers and continued on with their lives.

Taylor Earheart, the Yellow Ranger, had stayed close to her former Zord as she flew high in the skies with the Air Force. She was twenty-seven, a year older and a year changed, but she still fondly remembered her Ranger days. From the thrill of morphing to the heat of battle; it was all still fresh in her mind.

Cole Evans, the Blazing Red Lion Ranger, was now helping out a wildlife shelter in Turtle Cove. Even though he felt perfectly at home there, he missed being at the Anamarium with the others. Life seemed kind of empty without them.

Alyssa Enrile, the White Ranger, became a kindergarten teacher at Turtle Cove Elementary after she finished at the University. Everyday she told her young students the tales of her Ranger days. They were always eager to listen. And after every retelling of her adventures as the White Tiger Ranger, her mind was always led back to one male Ranger in particular...

Danny Delgado had spent six months touring the globe with his best friend Max Cooper. The next six months he spent his time tending to the plants he'd gotten from various locations on travels. Soon he opened his own flower shop, which was doing considerably well on the east end of Turtle Cove.

Max, on the other hand, went back to the bowling alley and helped Don teach kids how to bowl. And every time he used the tornado spin, he remembered back to his days as one of Turtle Cove's heroes.

Whatever they were doing in the new lives, one thing is certain. The five Wild Force Rangers missed being, well... the Wild Force Rangers. If only the world needed them again.


	2. Flowers & Birds

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers Wild Force, or any Power Rangers for that matter, they all belong to Buena Vista Entertainment.

Author's Note: After six and a half months of hating and loathing Wild Force, I finally broke down and got an idea for a story about them. Then, I started watching the show... Okay, I'm getting off-subject here. And if ya don't like the pairings or think I'm nuts: Bite me.

After the Wars  
by Froggie Lover

Chapter One: Flowers & Birds

Alyssa Enrile got out of her white Accord and took a seat at the outdoor café. She checked her watch when a yellow Jeep pulled up in front of the café. A blonde walked out of the SUV and sat down across from Alyssa.

"Hey Taylor," Alyssa said.

Taylor Earheart smiled at her best friend. "Hey 'Lyss. How's everything with the tykes?"

Alyssa smirked. Taylor was referring to the kindergarten class that she taught. "They're good, Tay. I'm telling you, though, they love hearing about the Ranger days."

"Not surprising," Taylor said. She briefly looked back on the said Ranger days. A faint smile came to her face. Suddenly, Taylor's pager went off. She groaned and looked at Alyssa apologetically.

"Emergency?" Alyssa asked.

"Yeah, something happened at Base," Taylor replied. "I'm sorry, 'Lyss."

Alyssa nodded. "It's okay."

Taylor gave an apologetic smile before hopping off to her Jeep and driving away. Alyssa sighed and got up from her seat. She checked her watch, which read twelve-fifteen. It was a Saturday afternoon, and Alyssa had nothing to do. _Except wander aimlessly around Turtle Cove, I guess._

~*~*~*~

Alyssa stopped walking along the busy sidewalk to admire a group of white lilies that were apart of a display in front of a flower shop.

"These are beautiful," she whispered.

"You like?" a voice from above her said.

Alyssa looked up. "Yes." She gasped as she realized who it was that stood in front of her. "Danny?"

"Ah, so I am remembered," Danny Delgado, the former Black Wild Force Ranger, said with a grin.

"Of course you're remembered!" Alyssa exclaimed. She looked into his deep brown eyes and got lost in them for a brief moment. "So, what's been up with you?"

"Well," Danny started. He smiled. "After Max and I's long vacation ended, we both came back to Turtle Cove, and I started my own flower shop."

"That's great," Alyssa replied.

"So, you said that you liked the flowers?" Danny asked.

Alyssa blushed. "Um, yeah." 

Danny picked one of the white lilies from the bunch. "Then you can have one, free of charge," he said, offering it to Alyssa.

She took it kindly and smiled up at him. "Thanks."

~*~*~*~

Taylor let out a sigh as she drove her Jeep to the edges of the base. "What's going on?" she asked one of the men just standing around.

"Some civilians have been spotted on Base grounds," he replied.

"Great. Just what I need," Taylor muttered. She got out of her Jeep and stepped to the head of the crowd. She saw a group of people sitting on their haunches in a circle, obviously hiding something. "What's going on here?"

One of the ones in the group looked up. "A bird is injured here, and your men are trying to get us away from it just because it landed on Base grounds."

Taylor gasped as she recognized the face and the voice. "Cole?"

Cole Evans shook his head as he also recognized the person standing in front of him. "Taylor?" He stood up. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, as you know, I work here," Taylor replied, smirking.

"Yeah, I did know that," Cole admitted shyly.

"And why are you here?" the pilot asked.

"I've been doing volunteer work at the local wildlife shelter, and we found this bird that was wounded. We want to help it, but your Air Force buddies won't let us take it off of Base grounds," Cole replied.

Taylor nodded with a thoughtful look on her face. "I think I can work something out here."


	3. It Starts

Disclaimer: _See Chapter One_.

Author's Note: And it continues! You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did you? Heehee. :^)

After the Wars  
by Froggie Lover

Chapter Two: It Starts

Max Cooper held the bowling ball with one hand and supported it with the other. He stared out onto the lane with much concentration. He loosened his form and swung his arm back, then brought it foward and let the ball fly onto the lane. He grinned as the ball hit the pins with a loud crash. All ten fell over with ease.

"Hey Max," a voice said from behind him.

Max turned to see his best friend, Danny, sitting at the table that overlooked the pair of lanes that Max was bowling on. "Hey Danny, what's up?"

Danny grinned as Max walked out of the bowling area and plopped down next to him. "Not much. Guess who I ran into today?"

"Who?" Max asked while scratching down his strike into the score card. He looked back up at his Hispanic friend.

"Alyssa," Danny said casually.

The former Blue Ranger almost dropped the pencil in his hand. He raised an eyebrow. "How the hell did you wind up seeing her? I thought you two ran two different circles completely around Turtle Cove."

"We do," Danny replied. "But, it's Saturday; the weekend. Anything's possible."

"Yeah, true," Max said. "So, what happened?"

"Well, I was working at the flower shop, and I noticed someone standing outside and looking at the display," Danny said.

Max got up and picked up his ball from the return and got into form, once again contemplating the lane. "Uh-huh."

Danny followed Max into the lane area and sat down in front of the scoring computer. "I went outside and saw that it was Alyssa. We got to talking and I found out what she's been doing lately."

Max threw the ball down the lane and turned back around to face Danny. "Score?"

Danny glanced at the screen. "Strike."

"Good." Max sat down next to Danny. "So, anything special happen?"

"I gave her a free flower, if that counts," Danny said, blushing a little.

Max grinned. "I believe, my friend, that you have a girlfriend."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Here we go."

~*~*~*~

"Is this it?" Cole asked, looking around the room that he and Taylor had just entered.

"Yep," Taylor replied. She walked over to a cage and looked at the falcon inside. "Here he is."

Cole followed Taylor and noticed the large cut on the falcon's wing. "Yeah. So, this is where I have to go every day to make sure this falcon makes it out all right?"

Taylor nodded. "Except on Sundays. Just tell the guard at the gate your name, and you're in. If anyone gives you any trouble, they'll be answering to me."

"Thank you for doing this, Taylor," Cole said. He smiled. "It was really nice of you."

Taylor shrugged. "It was nothing." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "We were Rangers together, remember? That means we're friends, powers or no powers."

Cole's smile widened. "Definitely."

~*~*~*~

Alyssa set the white lily into the narrow vase that was filled with water. She smiled and gazed at the flower, thinking of the one who had given it to her. The last thing Alyssa had expected was to run into Danny on a Saturday afternoon. _It's not like I didn't want to..._ She shook her head and walked into the living room of her apartment, plopping down onto the couch. Alyssa sighed and reached for the remote, then stopped, and her hand fell at her side. She couldn't do anything with Danny on her mind.

_You're a moron_, Alyssa told herself. _You ran into Danny today and didn't even ask him out._ She sighed and closed her eyes, tyring to get rid of the thoughts of the former Black Wild Force Ranger that were plaguing her mind.


	4. Base Pains

Disclaimer: _See Chapter One_.

Author's Note: I know near-nothing about the military or the Air Force, so if I screw anything up, tell me.

After the Wars  
by Froggie Lover

Chapter Three: Base Pains

On Monday morning, Alyssa heard the annoying buzz of her alarm clock in her dream. Her eyes shot up and her hand reached over to turn the alarm off. She sighed and got up, wiping the sleep from her eyes. Her surroundings appeared to her in a blur of white and gray. Alyssa checked the clock and shook her head. _Great. Only seventeen and half more hours until this bad day is over,_ she told herself.

~*~*~*~

Danny woke up from his deep slumber, a slight smile on his face. He pulled on a black shirt and left his room to enter the kitchen of his apartment. He started up the coffee and his smile grew. The dream he had the night before had been... _amazing._ And it there was no need for this dream to be a wet one; that requirement had been thrown out the window on Saturday afternoon when he saw Alyssa at the flower shop.

For the first time since he'd returned to Turtle Cove, Danny had not needed the aid of his alarm clock. He looked up at the wall clock in his kitchen. He had gotten up _before_ his alarm was set. Maybe Max was right about this whole thing. Maybe it was possible that Danny, for the first time since his terrible dead-end crush with Kendall, was in love. Really, truly, madly, deeply in love.

~*~*~*~

"Lieutenant Earheart," Taylor heard a voice say as she arrived at the Turtle Cove Air Force Base.

She looked up. "Captain O'Brien," Taylor said, bristling. O'Brien had been a pain in her side since she joined the Air Force. He'd always been one step ahead of her and always watching her, making sure she didn't screw anything up. And if she did well, he only managed to suck the glory out of the victory.

"You're late, Earheart. I thought you'd realize by now that to do well, you'd have to get to Base on time," O'Brien said, a manical grin across his face.

Taylor rolled her eyes. _I'd rather deal with Cole in his Jungle Boy state than with this guy._ "Listen, don't give me any crap about my work habits. There was an emergency on Base Saturday, and I failed to see your face in the crowd. Hmm... Wonder why?"

O'Brien's grin dropped, and he glared at Taylor. "I could have you reported for that, Earheart."

"I'd love to see that, O'Brien," Taylor spat, walking towards the Base Headquarters.

Taylor was walking so fast, O'Brien had to jog to catch up with her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to face him. "Listen, you give me any more that shit than you already have, and I will report you, Earheart. Got it?"

The female of the two scoffed. "Me giving you shit? I think you need to turn that statement around. You're the one hassling me all the time, and I'd thoroughly appreciate it if you'd just stop. None of it is getting you anywhere, and it could get you reported."

O'Brien looked all-in-all pissed as Taylor moved out of his grasp and continued walking to the Base Headquarters. He shook his head and simply walked behind her wordlessly.

~*~*~*~

Taylor did her normal rounds of the base before heading into the HQ. She at first went in the direction of her office, then turned around and went to the room where she knew the falcon that Cole had found was being kept. It was only ten, but she found Cole already in the room, feeding the falcon.

"Hey Cole," she greeted.

Cole looked up. "Hey Taylor. What's up?" He carefully closed the cage and sat down at the table in the center of the room.

Taylor sighed. "Nothing but trouble," she said, plopping down in a seat across from Cole.

"Trouble?" Cole asked. He raised an eyebrow as the door to the room swung open.

"So, this is the Bird Boy that's the talk of Base," a voice from the doorway said.

Taylor turned to see O'Brien walking into the room and over to Cole. She steeled herself for any comment the captain might decide to dish out at her or Cole.

"Bird Boy?" Cole wondered out loud.

"Yes. It seems that your tree-hugging exploits have reached every corner of the base," O'Brien said, a cold grin on his lips.

"O'Brien," Taylor warned through clenched teeth.

The captain only laughed. He shot a glance at Taylor and shook his head. "Oh, do forgive me, Lieutenant Earheart for even thinking of insulting your new boyfriend."

Cole tensed. "We're not together," he said.

"Oh, that's right, I forgot," O'Brien laughed. "Earheart is the number one man-hater. It's a wonder that she doesn't join the other side." With that, he turned and left the room.

Taylor sighed and relaxed a little. She rubbed her temples and stood up.

Cole walked over to her and set a hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry about that, Cole. O'Brien is just... an ass."

"I gathered that much."

~*~*~*~

Alyssa closed her eyes with relief as the last of her morning kindergarten class left the room. They were all off to the buses and their parents, leaving her with some time to think before the afternoon class arrived. She stood up from her desk and closed the door to the classroom. _This day is only getting worse,_ she thought.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the classroom door. Alyssa rolled her eyes and opened it. "Yes?"

Standing there was one of the fifth graders who worked in the main office. "Um, Miss Enrile, these came for you in the office." The student handed her a bouquet of flowers.

"Thank you," she replied and took the flowers.

The fifth grader turned and walked away.

Alyssa stared at the flowers in her hand. It was an arrangement of white roses and pink carnations, plus one white lily in the center. She just stood there, mystified. Who would send her flowers? She read the card attached and smiled.

__

Alyssa,

It was nice to see you again on Saturday. I hope we see each other again soon, before another year has passed at least.

- Danny

On the back of the card was the name of the florist's shop: "Delgado Flowers." Alyssa sighed dreamily and found a vase to put the flowers in. So, he had been thinking of her too.


End file.
